As many of you know, I love to cook! I was saddened when I had to close up shop over a year ago, thereby, ending my career as a restaurateur; but I have learned when one door closes, another opportunity comes through an open window. And the good news is I am resurrecting my on-line magazine that I started back in 1996 under the name The Art of Good Living Magazine, long before blogs and internet magazines became In Vogue. The new name Recipes for Good Living is all-encompassing of our mission to address the needs of today’s families.

When it comes to good food, I have a little secret I would like to share with you. If you want your recipes to be good, you have to start with good ingredients.

Many women complain that they don’t have the time to prepare things from scratch, but having been a working mom who knows what it is like to raise a family on the run, I will share with you some of the things that worked for me in future editions. Starting right now, our goal together is to help you and your family become the well-fed, healthy people you were designed to be.

So on that note, here is your first assignment. We are going to start out with the basics. This will become your foundation and then we will build from there. In each edition I will share tips and recipes to help you to live a life that is good:

  • Go through your cabinets and refrigerator and read the labels on everything. This is an important exercise in order to become educated with what you are putting into your body. Check things like sodium content, high fructose corn syrup and other ingredients that you cannot pronounce. These ingredients are not your friends. One common food that we all love that typically includes one of the many culprits is ketchup. Check the label and you will find that your favorite ketchup has a lot of high fructose corn syrup and it will make you fat. Find a store that carries Spanish foods or you can look in the gourmet section of your food store and buy their brand of ketchup. I buy the Spanish label because it is cheaper and believe it or not, it is organic. And the one good thing is it does not have high fructose corn syrup. This is just one example, so check everything.
  • Clear your cabinets and refrigerator of all white stuff. In other words, buy only whole grains and substitute white rice with brown rice. Also, swap out pasta made with white flour for the whole grain variety. Neither your kids, nor you will know the difference; except it tastes better. Get rid of white sugar and replace it with honey, liquid Stevia or Blue Agave Sweetener. These are all wonderful sweeteners and you will find that your desire for sugar will disappear over time. Focus instead on eating fresh fruit to satisfy your sugar cravings.
  • Get rid of sodas. You can make your own soda by using a fruit juice and carbonated water mixture of 1 or 2 parts juice and the rest seltzer. Be sure to choose 100% juice that has not been sweetened with sugar or corn syrup.
  • More importantly however, learn to love and drink plenty of water.
  • Load up your cabinet with all kinds of herbs. And during the warmer months, grow your own. You can grow herbs in pots, in a garden or on your window sill. And, not only are they more flavorful, they are also cheaper. Herbs will become your new best friend, as you are finally going to taste your food rather than the salt and sugar that is so typical in carryout and processed foods.
  • Fall in love with beans. They are packed with nutrition, they are inexpensive and I have some great recipes to share with you that you will simply love. The next time you are in the supermarket, visit the section for beans and discover the many kinds of beans that are available. Next, go to the Spanish section and if you have an Indian section, visit there too. You will be amazed at what you have been missing.
  • Think Fresh. Whenever possible, always choose to use fresh ingredients for your dishes. Fresh not only tastes better but it is better for you. Now is a great time to think about planting that garden. And if you are lacking space, pots are a great way to cultivate fresh herbs, tomatoes, pole beans and fixings for salads. And if you just can’t find a way to plant a garden you can always visit one of the many neighborhood farmer’s markets that are cropping up everywhere. Be sure to take the kids along and use this as an opportunity to begin to educate them on eating good food. I will cover a lot of “kid-friendly” ideas in the Growing Good section of the magazine.
  • And last, but not least, send me your food challenges, and we will take it from there.

I think this is going to be a lot of fun and I look forward to sharing with you. And by the way, if you have a family recipe that you would like to have updated with a healthier version, email it to me and I will return it to you better than ever.

Until next time, eat, live, be well and thrive...